Benedictine
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
nunnery at
Almenêches
Almenêches () is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France.
Geography
The commune of is made up of the following villages and hamlets, Saint-Hippolyte, Almenêches, Fligny, La Gare, Le Mesnil, Les Champs Bouchers, Le Friche, S ...
in
Orne
Orne (; or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.Roger of Montgomery refounded it sometime between 1063 and 1066.
History
During the Anglo-Norman civil war, upon hearing the abbey was being used by Duke Robert Curthose as a stable, Robert of Bellême burned it down. The abbess, Bellême's sister Emma, fled with her sister nuns; they were temporarily accommodated in surrounding houses or at the
Abbey of Saint-Evroul
Ouche Abbey or the Abbey of Saint-Evroul (; ) is a former Rule of St. Benedict, Benedictine abbey in Normandy, located in the present commune of Saint-Evroult-Notre-Dame-du-Bois, Saint-Évroult-Notre-Dame-du-Bois, Orne, Normandy. It has been clas ...
. The following year Emma had the abbey at Almenêches rebuilt. It subsequently suffered another fire under Abbess Matilda, Emma's successor, and a third one after 1308.
Episcopal visit
In 1260, Archbishop
Eudes Rigaud
Odo Rigaud (sometimes Odo Rigaldi, Eudes II Rigaud, or Eudes Rigaldi) (c. 1210 - 1275) was a university lecturer, member of the Franciscan order, and the Archbishop of Rouen from 1247 until his death in 1275.
Life
Rigaud was born into a family ...
noted the refectory was not in use; the nuns ate in groups of twos and threes in private rooms. He ordered them to cease this activity and eat in the refectory. Eudes also noted that the nuns ran up debts in the town and that some of the nuns even had children. The nuns also failed to live a communal life, did not attend
Matins
Matins (also Mattins) is a canonical hour in Christian liturgy, originally sung during the darkness of early morning (between midnight and dawn).
The earliest use of the term was in reference to the canonical hour, also called the vigil, which w ...
or
Compline
Compline ( ), also known as Complin, Night Prayer, or the Prayers at the End of the Day, is the final prayer liturgy (or office) of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours, which are prayed at fixed prayer times.
The English wor ...
, and allowed seculars to visit the nunnery. Eudes admits to finding the nunnery in disarray, explaining he did not have the time to fix every problem he encountered. Instead, Eudes ordered their bishop to instruct their abbess on the proper life for the nuns.
Closure
In 1736, the community was transferred to Argentan Abbey. During the French Revolution the Abbey church was then used to manufacture
saltpeter
Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with a sharp, salty, bitter taste and the chemical formula . It is a potassium salt of nitric acid. This salt consists of potassium cations and nitrate anions , and is therefore an alkali metal nitrate ...
. Restoration of the church was carried out between 1864 and 1887 by architect Ruprich-Robert.
In 1948 the church was listed as a
Monument historique
() is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...